Driving in Ireland

Wexford96

Hi.
Just wondering about arriving to live and work in Ireland with a USA driving license.
I understand its necessary to first get a learner permit, then take a number of lessons, and finally take the test.
Is there any easier way that anyone may have done this? The 6 month wait on a learner permit is going to be a problem. In summary, is it possible to fast track the whole process?
Thanks for reading.

dennyk

Yes, it will be necessary to go through the process from the beginning; do the theory test, get a learner's permit, take your mandatory EDT lessons, and sit a driving test. You can legally drive on a US license for a "temporary visit" of up to 12 months, but technically if you are taking up residence here, you're required to get an Irish license ASAP.

First, the good: there is now an accelerated EDT course (warning: PDF) for holders of foreign licenses, meaning you'll only need six lessons instead of the usual 12. You can also use the same application form (PDF again) to obtain an exemption to the six-month waiting period, allowing you to sit your test as soon as your EDT lessons are complete regardless of when you obtained your learner's permit.

Now the bad: wait times for the test itself can be quite long. It's not quite as dire these days as it has been in the past few years, but average wait times are still running 6-9 weeks. If you have the flexibility to do a test at any time on very short notice, you can try for a cancellation slot, but even that may not speed things up much; just depends on how many cancellations they have and how many people are waiting for one.

And now the ugly: Once you have your learner's permit, it's a bit of a grey area, but current policy seems to be that the Irish learner's permit overrides your full foreign license and as such you are bound by the restrictions on that permit, including displaying your L plates at all times, not being allowed to drive on motorways, and most critically, always being accompanied by another driver who has held a full Irish license for at least two years. The latter used to be not such a big deal, but there have been recent heavy crackdowns on unaccompanied learners and new legislation addressing them, and driving unaccompanied on a learner's permit can now result in your car being impounded by the guards. There's still a chance that if you get stopped on the road or at a checkpoint and you present your US license to them and act the gormless tourist, they may not bother to look into it further, but if they do some digging and find you have a learner's as well, you may be in for it; it's now a much higher risk gamble than it was a few years ago when I was going through the process. Insurance companies are also cracking down on it and being a learner driving unaccompanied will usually invalidate your comprehensive coverage at the very least, and while they will still pay out for third party claims in the event of an accident, they might come after you personally to recover their payouts on the basis that you were driving illegally.

Wexford96

Amazing reply. So comprehensive. Thank you very much.